Where did I come from?(Creation)- I believe that God created us humans, to do good in this world, and to help eachother. I also believe that he created the universe and everything in it. Why is there suffering?(Theodicy)-I think that there is suffering to show us that life isn't always good, and sometimes there is loss. Also it makes us stronger as people, when we are suffering and we come together as a whole and overcome it. I think sometimes the opposing force, (satan, devil, etc.) causes the suffering, and other times we create it ourselves. But I think that God tries his best to fix it no matter what. How Should I live my life?(Ethics)- I think that we should live our lives to the fullest, and appreciate every moment we have on this planet. God put us on this planet for a reason, and we should find what that reason was. We shouldnt waste our potential in life, instead we should channel our energy to fufilling it. What happens after I die?(Destiny)- I think after you die, you go to whatever place you believe in, whether that be heaven, rebirth, or someting different. I think that if you do good in life, you will go to your heaven of sorts, and if you do bad things then you will be punished.
Journal #2
Me: "Hello Guru, it is very nice meeting you. Are you really God in the flesh?" Guru:"Hello, its a pleasure to meet you, and yes, I really am God in the flesh?" Me: "Wow! I have a few questions to ask you, is it okay if I do that?" Guru:"Why yes, of course, what are your questions?" Me: "Well my first question, and my most important one, is what happens after you die?" Guru: "Well after you die, first your Karma gets weighed on the scale. If your scale tips toward the good side, you are reincarnated and your Atman goes to a new life, higher on the cast system until you reach Moksha. If it tips towards the bad side, you are reincarnated into a lower caste, and you have to try again." Me: "Thank you! That was a very clear answer. My next question is, who created the universe? Guru: "Brahman the creator god, created everything in this universe, including you!" Me: "Wow, that is very interesting! My last question is, how do I know what my Dharma is?" Guru: "Well, if you are in the caste system, then your duty is what your caste's job is. However if you are not born into the caste system, your Dharma is to do whatever you need to do to fufill your life and reach Moksha." Me: "What an insightful answer! Thank you for all of your help! Goodbye!" Guru: "Goodbye!"
Journal #3
Day #1(Friday): When I started to meditate, I sat on the floor of my room with my eyes shut. I tried to think of nothing, or a blank space. However I found this very difficult, because I kep getting distracted by thoughts, and things in my room. All of the noises around me distracted me from being mindful, and I couldn't keep my eyes shut for very long. I found that a thought that kep coming back to me, was the thought that I needed to do my chores.
Day #2(Saturday): When I meditated today, I layed in my bed, closed my door, and turned all the lights off. I put my phone far away from my bed, and put my head face-first into my pillow. I tried to shut out all of my thoughts, and take a deep breath. I tried to focus on an empty dark space. I found that today, the five minutes went by really quickly, and I was able to really relax for a moment.
Day #3(Sunday): Today I did the same routine as Saturday, except this time I tried to lay on my back. I thought about absolutely nothing, and tried to clear my head. I felt a very peaceful sensation, and felt there was nothing else in the world except the blank space. Today, it was much easier to get in a calm state and relax. The five minutes went by very slowly and felt more like 20 minutes. I felt like I was weightless and was just drifting along in space. Afterwards I felt very relaxed and calmed. I really liked this experience and I think I will start doing this more often.
Journal #4
If I were God giving Moses the 10 commandments, I would not change them because I think God did a good job choosing them. I believe in all of these 10 commandments even though I am not Christian. I think we should follow these rules in life, and they will make us a better person. I think the way God ordered them is very logical because they go from most important to least important. I think I would not rearrange the ten commandments, and leave them be. I also thinks having the exact number of 10 commandments is nice, because it is not too many rules, but just enough. I think one of the most important rules is to honor your father and mother. I think this is one of the most important ones because a lot of kids these days sometimes do not follow this rule, and after all our parents do for us, I think we should.
Journal #5
The story that would have been most useful to me is the Great Banquet parable. The story tells about a man who has a great banquet and all of his friends who he invited makes up excuses on why they can’t go. He then tells his servants to get people off the street to come to his feast. I think the moral of this story is to be happy with what you have, and don't turn everything down in life. This story would have been useful to me in a situation where I was invited to a party, and made up excuses on why I couldn't go. I could have used this story in this situation by feeling grateful for being invited and not making excuses on why I couldn't go.
Journal #6 I think the misconceptions we Americans have on Muslims is slightly unfair. I think judging a whole religion based on the acts of a few people isn't acceptable, and we shouldn’t do that. I think it is okay for us to feel uncomfortable around Muslims after 9/11 but I don’t think we should judge all of them. I think we should keep an open mind and try and not stereotype the Muslim population. I think by spreading awareness about the Islamic faith we can make our relationship with Muslims better.
Why is there suffering?(Theodicy)- I think that there is suffering to show us that life isn't always good, and sometimes there is loss. Also it makes us stronger as people, when we are suffering and we come together as a whole and overcome it. I think sometimes the opposing force, (satan, devil, etc.) causes the suffering, and other times we create it ourselves. But I think that God tries his best to fix it no matter what.
How Should I live my life?(Ethics)- I think that we should live our lives to the fullest, and appreciate every moment we have on this planet. God put us on this planet for a reason, and we should find what that reason was. We shouldnt waste our potential in life, instead we should channel our energy to fufilling it.
What happens after I die?(Destiny)- I think after you die, you go to whatever place you believe in, whether that be heaven, rebirth, or someting different. I think that if you do good in life, you will go to your heaven of sorts, and if you do bad things then you will be punished.
Journal #2
Me: "Hello Guru, it is very nice meeting you. Are you really God in the flesh?"
Guru:"Hello, its a pleasure to meet you, and yes, I really am God in the flesh?"
Me: "Wow! I have a few questions to ask you, is it okay if I do that?"
Guru:"Why yes, of course, what are your questions?"
Me: "Well my first question, and my most important one, is what happens after you die?"
Guru: "Well after you die, first your Karma gets weighed on the scale. If your scale tips toward the good side, you are reincarnated and your Atman goes to a new life, higher on the cast system until you reach Moksha. If it tips towards the bad side, you are reincarnated into a lower caste, and you have to try again."
Me: "Thank you! That was a very clear answer. My next question is, who created the universe?
Guru: "Brahman the creator god, created everything in this universe, including you!"
Me: "Wow, that is very interesting! My last question is, how do I know what my Dharma is?"
Guru: "Well, if you are in the caste system, then your duty is what your caste's job is. However if you are not born into the caste system, your Dharma is to do whatever you need to do to fufill your life and reach Moksha."
Me: "What an insightful answer! Thank you for all of your help! Goodbye!"
Guru: "Goodbye!"
Journal #3
Day #1(Friday): When I started to meditate, I sat on the floor of my room with my eyes shut. I tried to think of nothing, or a blank space. However I found this very difficult, because I kep getting distracted by thoughts, and things in my room. All of the noises around me distracted me from being mindful, and I couldn't keep my eyes shut for very long. I found that a thought that kep coming back to me, was the thought that I needed to do my chores.
Day #2(Saturday): When I meditated today, I layed in my bed, closed my door, and turned all the lights off. I put my phone far away from my bed, and put my head face-first into my pillow. I tried to shut out all of my thoughts, and take a deep breath. I tried to focus on an empty dark space. I found that today, the five minutes went by really quickly, and I was able to really relax for a moment.
Day #3(Sunday): Today I did the same routine as Saturday, except this time I tried to lay on my back. I thought about absolutely nothing, and tried to clear my head. I felt a very peaceful sensation, and felt there was nothing else in the world except the blank space. Today, it was much easier to get in a calm state and relax. The five minutes went by very slowly and felt more like 20 minutes. I felt like I was weightless and was just drifting along in space. Afterwards I felt very relaxed and calmed. I really liked this experience and I think I will start doing this more often.
Journal #4
If I were God giving Moses the 10 commandments, I would not change them because I think God did a good job choosing them. I believe in all of these 10 commandments even though I am not Christian. I think we should follow these rules in life, and they will make us a better person. I think the way God ordered them is very logical because they go from most important to least important. I think I would not rearrange the ten commandments, and leave them be. I also thinks having the exact number of 10 commandments is nice, because it is not too many rules, but just enough. I think one of the most important rules is to honor your father and mother. I think this is one of the most important ones because a lot of kids these days sometimes do not follow this rule, and after all our parents do for us, I think we should.
Journal #5
The story that would have been most useful to me is the Great Banquet parable. The story tells about a man who has a great banquet and all of his friends who he invited makes up excuses on why they can’t go. He then tells his servants to get people off the street to come to his feast. I think the moral of this story is to be happy with what you have, and don't turn everything down in life. This story would have been useful to me in a situation where I was invited to a party, and made up excuses on why I couldn't go. I could have used this story in this situation by feeling grateful for being invited and not making excuses on why I couldn't go.
Journal #6
I think the misconceptions we Americans have on Muslims is slightly unfair. I think judging a whole religion based on the acts of a few people isn't acceptable, and we shouldn’t do that. I think it is okay for us to feel uncomfortable around Muslims after 9/11 but I don’t think we should judge all of them. I think we should keep an open mind and try and not stereotype the Muslim population. I think by spreading awareness about the Islamic faith we can make our relationship with Muslims better.